(Minneapolis, MN) July 6, 2004 - Thank you, Secretary Veneman, for that introduction. Minnesota is very near the geographic center of the 50 states  squarely in the heartland of America. And I am pleased to be here to announce that this great University will now house an important Homeland Security Center for Excellence  and the heart and soul of our efforts to protect America's food supply.

A few months ago, the Department of Homeland Security announced
that we would be partnering with the University of Minnesota and Texas
A&M University to research important areas of agricultural security -
such as the food supply and animal diseases.

Now, we are making that partnership a reality...we brought our
checkbook. Today, The University of Minnesota receives $15 million to
establish the Homeland Security National Center for Food Protection and
Defense.

Researchers here will partner with industry leaders to establish
best practices to manage and respond to food contaminations - whether
they are intentional or naturally occurring.

We have just had the opportunity to see some of the projects they
are already working on; and which will be further expanded using this
new money.

We saw demonstrations of two computer systems that allow experts to
map out "what-if?" situations, incorporating real-time information
gathered from labs and monitors around the country, and to test
possible interventions for effectiveness.

And a portable detection device that government labs and first
responders could one day use at the site of an emergency to better -
and more quickly - detect harmful substances that might be used in an
intentional attack.

This work at the University of Minnesota will be providing a North
Star for the Department of Homeland Security - and the country - to
follow toward a safe and secure food supply for all Americans.

In addition, Texas A&M will receive $18 million to stand up the
National Center for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Defense.

The Aggies will work closely with others in academia, industry, and
government to address potential health risks such as foot and mouth
disease and Avian flu.

These two new centers join the Homeland Security Center for Risk
and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events at the University of Southern
California. They are part of the Department's effort to engage the best
and brightest minds - along with the most advanced technologies - to
secure our country and citizens.

And, today, we are putting out the call for a fourth center.

It is my pleasure to announce that the Department is accepting
applications - from groups such as the one here in Minnesota - for our
fourth Homeland Security Center of Excellence.

This Center will focus on the Behavioral and Social Aspects of
Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism. It will study both the behavior of
terrorists, as well as the social effects of terrorist threats and
attacks on our population.

The work of this new center will complement our current efforts to
develop a sustained and innovative research and education effort for
the security of our Nation.

In every area of human endeavor, research and development is the
engine that drives our nation to a better and brighter future.

For instance, R&D at NASA brought us incredible pictures of the
surface of Mars, and R&D at the Department of Energy is helping to
bring hydrogen-powered cars to our roadways.

But government can't do it alone. In each of these cases,
partnerships between the government and academics, businesses, and
scientists produce together what would be impossible individually.

The Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, could not have landed
without the Jet Propulsion Lab at California Institute of Technology.
And hydrogen-powered cars will not clean our air without the
participation - in fact, the leadership - of auto manufacturers and
consumers.

The same is true at the Department of Homeland Security. We are
relying on everyone in the entire academic community - and especially
at our Centers for Excellence - to boost our efforts to develop an
enduring national research capability in homeland protection.

Together with participation from local leaders and responsible
corporate citizens, these Homeland Security Centers will bring the
future to bear on the challenges facing our food supply today.

As Secretary Veneman noted, the task is a large one. Our efforts
must be as widespread and comprehensive as a system that puts food on
the tables of millions of Americans every day - three times a day!

We work with the Department of Agriculture to ensure that our
entire food supply - as it traverses from farmers to food processors to
your local supermarket - is both safe to eat and secure from
terrorism.

It's a great example of the kind of interagency cooperation that we
strive for across the federal government - and with our partners at the
state, county, local and tribal levels.

It is also an example of the unified security we can provide the
American people when we work together - as we are doing to protect the
vital infrastructure of our food supply and agricultural sector.

When it comes to securing America's food supply - the safest and
most plentiful in the world - information is the main course.

It begins here with the University of Minnesota and Texas A&M - and
all of your partners in the Homeland Security Centers of Excellence -
as you work to develop the next generation of ideas and technologies.

And it continues in the public and private sectors as we
communicate those ideas to everyone charged with keeping our country
secure.

It is the kind of cooperation and coordination that America
expects. And it is providing the important security that all Americans
deserve.